So when word came out that Bailey O'Neill, a 12-year-old boy from outside Philadelphia who had been in a medically induced coma since being punched in the schoolyard January 10th, died after he was taken off life support Sunday, Rice posted a very poignant note on Facebook, vowing to fight even harder to combat the problem.

I wrote this earlier today but waited to post until I had permission from the family. This is going to be a long post so please bear with me. A few weeks ago i shared a link to an article that a fan sent to me. It was about an 11 year old boy named Bailey who had been bullied at school. In the latest incident, Bailey was beat up on the school playground. Hit in the face and pushed to the ground, Bailey began to have severe seizures which required him to be placed into a medically induced coma.

After learning last Thursday that doctors said Bailey had no longer had any brain activity, I reached out to the family and was able to spend about 45 minutes on the phone with them. I could hear their sadness, worry, frustration and grief. They would be faced with removing their son, cousin, nephew, and best friend from life support.

Bailey passed away this morning, one day after his 12th birthday.

I don't think I will ever be able to understand why kids bully each other and how we are all sitting here after yet another "bully death" getting ready to go through this difficult task of picking up the pieces and the even more difficult task of forgiving so we can heal.

I don't know if we will ever get to a point where bullying is actually considered a CRIME, rather than "kids being kids" or a "playground incident."

I don't know if the kid that did this to Bailey will be punished severely enough or if he will receive the help I know he truly needs. Bullying doesn't happen for no reason...we have to figure out what the underlying cause it and treat it like the illness it is.

I don't know when parents, teachers, elected officials and administrators will sit up and take notice...and ACT.

But, I DO KNOW THIS: I will NOT give up my fight. Everyday I will continue to fight AGAINST bullying and fight FOR kindness.

Bailey - my little buddy, I will not let you become just another bully statistic...you are my inspiration and one more angel that will help me continue the fight for kids everywhere. You are going to help me save lives. RIP my little friend.

Rice held an anti-bullying rally in Baltimore last July, telling between 3000 and 4000 attendees a story of why the cause is so personal to him.

"Going into the eighth grade, a girl kept on picking on [my sister]," Rice said. "The girl threw a rock, hit my sister in the eye, and my mother's first reaction was to tell her to retaliate. That wasn't the right answer. We got the principal involved, we got the police involved. â?¦ We haven't had a problem since. My sister is living a happy, teenage life right now."

Rice is certainly moving forward in his efforts to combat the problem, asking Facebook followers to donate to his nonprofit endeavor, "Ray's Links of Kindness/Anti-Bullying Program," either in the name of someone they know being bullied or someone like Bailey O'Neill.